Vikentije (II) ( sr-cyr, Викентије,

secular name A legal name is the name that identifies a person for legal, administrative and other official purposes. A person's legal birth name generally is the name of the person that was given for the purpose of Civil registry, registration of the birth an ...

Vitomir Prodanov, Витомир Проданов; 23 August 1890 – 5 July 1958) was the fourth partriach of the reunified

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...

, from 1950 until his death.

Early life

Vitomir Prodanov was born on August 23, 1890, in the village of

Bačko Petrovo Selo Bačko Petrovo Selo ( sr-cyr, Бачко Петрово Село; Hungarian: ''Péterréve'', German: ''Batschko Petrovo Selo'') is a village located in the Bečej Municipality, in the South Bačka District of Serbia. It is situated in the Auton ...

, then in the Hungarian part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. He was born into the family of Đorđe and Jelka Prodanov. He completed his elementary education in Bačko Petrovo Selo in 1901. After that, he entered the Serbian Gymnasium in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...

from which he graduated in 1909. He continued his higher education in the Serbian Orthodox Theology School in

Sremski Karlovci Sremski Karlovci ( sr-cyrl, Сремски Карловци, ; hu, Karlóca; tr, Karlofça) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Danub ...

, graduating in 1913. He then returned to

as a teacher. On 1 June 1917, Bishop Georgije Letić of Eparchy of Temišvar appointed him consistorial sub-notary for the Diocese of Temišvar (now better known as Timisoara,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

). On 18 August 1917, Prodanov took

monastic vows Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role ...

in Bezdin Monastery (in what is now

) before

Archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") who ...

Issac Došen Issac may refer to: Given name * Issac Amaldas, Indian boxer * Issac Bailey, American writer * Issac Blakeney (born 1992), American football wide receiver * Issac Booth (born 1971), American football player * Issac Ryan Brown (born 2005), Ameri ...

and was given the name Vikentije (eng.

Vicentius Vincent ( la, Vincentius) is a male given name derived from the Roman name Vincentius, which is derived from the Latin word (''to conquer''). People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003), Maltese sculptor *Vincent van Gogh ...

). He was

ordain Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...

ed a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

on 12 September by Bpishop Georgije. In 1919, he was transferred to the post of a consistorial notary of the

Eparchy of Bačka The Eparchy of Bačka ( sr, Бачка епархија, Bačka eparhija) is an ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Bačka region, Serbia. It is situated in the autonomous province of Vojvodina and the seat of ...

. He was raised to the dignity of

protodeacon Protodeacon derives from the Greek ''proto-'' meaning 'first' and ''diakonos'', which is a standard ancient Greek word meaning "assistant", "servant", or "waiting-man". The word in English may refer to any of various clergy, depending upon the usag ...

and then

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

. From 1921 to 1932 he served as secretary of the executive board of Serbian

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

. During this time he continued his education at the Philosophical Faculty in Belgrade studying

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

and

Byzantine History This history of the Byzantine Empire covers the history of the Eastern Roman Empire from late antiquity until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD. Several events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the transitional period during which the Roman ...

. He graduated in 1929. On 31 October 1929, he was ordained a

hieromonk A hieromonk ( el, Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; ka, მღვდელმონაზონი, tr; Slavonic: ''Ieromonakh'', ro, Ieromonah), also called a priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church and E ...

, and on 3 December, he was raised to the rank of

archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") who ...

. In 1932, Vikentije was elected Secretary-General of the

Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox C ...

of the Serbian Orthodox Church. He remained in this position until he was elected

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Marča, on 4 July 1932. He was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

Serbian Patriarch Varnava Varnava Rosić ( sr-cyr, Варнава Росић; September 11, 1880 – July 23, 1937) was the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church from 1930 to 1937. He was born Petar Rosić in Pljevlja, belonging at that time to the Ottoman Empire, on A ...

, assisted by bishops Irinej of Bačka, Serafim of Raška, and Prizren, Sava of Srem, and

Platon of Banja Luka Hieromartyr Platon, Bishop of Banja Luka (born Milivoje Jovanović; 29 September 1874 – 5 May 1941) was a Serbian Orthodox cleric who served as the Bishop of Banja Luka between 1940 and 1941. His tenure ended in May 1941, when he was abducted ...

. Vikentije was a historian and a member of the Society of Historians of Vojvodina. He also was editor-in-chief of its gazette.

Bishop

Vikentije remained an auxiliary bishop until 1939 when he was elected Bishop of

Zletovo Zletovo ( mk, Злетово) is a village in the municipality of Probištip, North Macedonia. It used to be a municipality of its own and its FIPS code was MK48. History One of the neighborhoods of the village bears the name ''Arvanik'', which s ...

and

Strumica Strumica ( mk, Струмица, ) is the largest city2002 census results
in English and Macedon ...

. In 1940, he was additionally assigned the task of administrating the Eparchy of

Ohrid Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...

and

Bitola Bitola (; mk, Битола ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki ...

. After the Germans and Bulgarians occupied his eparchies in 1941, he was exiled by Bulgarian fascists and fled to

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Communist regime of Yugoslavia did not allow him to return to his duties because they wanted to create a separate

Macedonian Orthodox Church The Macedonian Orthodox Church – Archdiocese of Ohrid (MOC-AO; mk, Македонска православна црква – Охридска архиепископија), or simply the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MOC) or the Archdiocese o ...

. From 1947 to 1950, Vikentije was the administrator of the

Eparchy of Žiča Eparchy of Žiča is one of the eparchies of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Republic of Serbia. It is seated in Kraljevo, in the Monastery of Žiča. Since 2014, diocesan bishop is Justin Stefanović. History The Eparchy of Žiča is na ...

Patriarch

Vikentije was elected Serbian Patriarch on 14 July 1950. He placed enormous energy into trying to resolve the problem of Pension Security funds for

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

s of the Serbian Church. Vikentije was the first Serbian Patriarch to visit Russia in almost 50 years. He was strongly opposed to the splitting of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the creation of a separate Macedonian Church. Patriarch Vikentije died on 5 July 1958 under mysterious circumstances (like Patriarch Varnava) after a session of the Holy Assembly of bishops at which the assembly rejected suggestions from the communist regime to approve the establishment of a separate Macedonian Orthodox Church. He was buried in the tomb of Metropolitan Mihailo in the St. Michael's Cathedral in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vikentije 1890 births 1958 deaths People from Bečej Vikentije II 20th-century Serbian people 20th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Burials at St. Michael's Cathedral (Belgrade)

Early life

Bishop

Patriarch

See also

References